News (Media Awareness Project) - Canada: Drugs Infest Lax Prisons - Union Head |
Title: | Canada: Drugs Infest Lax Prisons - Union Head |
Published On: | 2005-04-05 |
Source: | Edmonton Journal (CN AB) |
Fetched On: | 2008-08-20 13:55:49 |
DRUGS INFEST LAX PRISONS - UNION HEAD
OTTAWA - Canada's prisons are rife with drugs and Correctional Service
Canada is doing little to crack down or control the problem, says the
head of the union that represents correctional officers.
"If Corrections Canada was that serious about zero tolerance, we
wouldn't have drugs today in the jails," Sylvain Martel said Monday
following his speech to the Canadian Professional Police Association
conference.
"The reason they let them in, is because they want to let them in."
Martel delivered much the same message in his address, referring to
Correctional Service Canada's zero-tolerance policy on drugs as "lip
service and window dressing" for the public.
That was one of many criticisms Martel made of the prison system.
Drugs are entering the country's prisons in all sorts of ingenious
ways, he told more than 150 delegates.
An increasing trend is tennis balls and arrows concealing drugs being
shot over prison walls into exercise yards. In other cases, narcotics
are delivered inside personal property such as television sets and
stereos.
"Some institutions are not vigilant, or they are understaffed," Martel
said.
When officers do suspect an inmate has a contraband substance, he said
their powers are limited.
"We've lost the authority, we've lost the power inside. The inmate has
the power," he told delegates.
The sentiment won agreement from police officers at the conference.
Charles Momy, president of Ottawa's police association, said Martel
provided "a realistic picture" of prison conditions. "The animals are
now running the zoo," one man said during the question period.
OTTAWA - Canada's prisons are rife with drugs and Correctional Service
Canada is doing little to crack down or control the problem, says the
head of the union that represents correctional officers.
"If Corrections Canada was that serious about zero tolerance, we
wouldn't have drugs today in the jails," Sylvain Martel said Monday
following his speech to the Canadian Professional Police Association
conference.
"The reason they let them in, is because they want to let them in."
Martel delivered much the same message in his address, referring to
Correctional Service Canada's zero-tolerance policy on drugs as "lip
service and window dressing" for the public.
That was one of many criticisms Martel made of the prison system.
Drugs are entering the country's prisons in all sorts of ingenious
ways, he told more than 150 delegates.
An increasing trend is tennis balls and arrows concealing drugs being
shot over prison walls into exercise yards. In other cases, narcotics
are delivered inside personal property such as television sets and
stereos.
"Some institutions are not vigilant, or they are understaffed," Martel
said.
When officers do suspect an inmate has a contraband substance, he said
their powers are limited.
"We've lost the authority, we've lost the power inside. The inmate has
the power," he told delegates.
The sentiment won agreement from police officers at the conference.
Charles Momy, president of Ottawa's police association, said Martel
provided "a realistic picture" of prison conditions. "The animals are
now running the zoo," one man said during the question period.
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